There's nothing more impressive than seeing a maestro perform…unless that maestro is only five years old! Alberto Cartuccia Cingolani stunned the audience at the 10th International Competition in Penne in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Although he's only five, this was not Alberto's first contest.
Believe it or not, this is the eighth competition the talented youngster has entered. What’s even more amazing is that Alberto only started learning to play the piano in 2020. You could argue that music is in his blood, as both his parents graduated from musical conservatories.
His mother, Alessia, now works as a singing coach, and his father, Simone, is a teacher. As with so many things, Covid was partly responsible for Alberto learning to play.
During the first lockdown, Alessia was looking for ways to entertain Alberto. She brought out a small keyboard and began teaching him to play. Alessia and her husband realised that Alberto had natural talent. She explained:
"My husband and I noticed that he had perfect pitch. For a year and a half now, [Alberto] has been doing remarkable things, both for his age and for the time it took him to learn. Even though he still doesn't know how to read [music] notes well, indeed almost not at all, he takes his position on the keyboard and repeats the pieces. He is very instinctive."
Even though he has only been learning for two years, Alberto has already competed in and won seven other competitions. That's an unbelievable achievement for a five-year-old boy. So, hopes and interest were high when he appeared in Penne. He entered the opening round of the competition playing the first movement of Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major.
He played flawlessly with precision and outstanding musicality. The performance was recorded and uploaded to YouTube, and it's obvious that the crowd was spellbound. It's a masterful performance, and you can't believe a little boy who is barely school-age is doing it. Naturally, the video has gone viral. It has only received a modest 5000 views on YouTube, but it has swept Twitter with 5 million views.
It's mind-boggling to think that Alberto has achieved so much at such a young age. Who knows what wonders he will produce in the future and how wonderful his performances will be? Surely, like his parents, he will attend a conservatory to foster his talent and explore music and his abilities fully.
Until then, it seems certain that he will continue to enter music competitions and most likely win them too. We can hope that they will also be recorded so we can share in the exceptional talent of this sweet little boy. At the moment, his father, Simone, is Alberto's chief cameraman. He regularly records his playing and uploads it to YouTube for the whole world to enjoy. All we can do is wait with bated breath to see what this child prodigy does next. It's bound to be spectacular!
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